Forensics Sci Finale Flashcards
Frye Standard
A scientific test, theory, or method to be considered valid, it must be widely accepted by experts in the specific field to which it pertains.
Daubert Standard
a method used by courts to determine whether or not expert testimony should be admissible at trial.
Class Evidence
Narrows evidence down to a group of persons or things, EX. Blood Type
Individual Evidence
Narrows evidence down to a single person or thing, EX. Fingerprints/DNA
First Officer On Scene
A-assess the crime scene
D-detain the witness
A-arrest the perpetrator
P-protect the crime scene
T-take notes/compile data
Medical Examiner (ME)
Investigates violent, sudden and unexpected, suspicious or unattended deaths.
Death Investigator
Responds to the scene of death for the purpose of performing an investigation into why the person died and collecting any evidence directly related to death.
Coroner
Make inquiry into the death and complete the certificate of death.
Types of evidence
blood, semen or saliva, Fibers, Paint chips, Glass, Soil and vegetation, Accelerates, Fingerprints, and Hair.
Rigor Mortis
Postmortem change resulting in the stiffening of the body muscles.
Livor Mortis
A passive process of blood accumulating within the blood vessels in the dependent parts of the body as a result of gravity, causing a discoloration of the skin that varies from pink to dark purplish.
Algor Mortis
The third stage of death, is the change in body temperature post mortem, until the ambient temperature is matched.
Characteristics that can be determined from hair microscopically
How the hair was released from the scalp, how the hair was typically cut, hair color, and ancestry.
With a hair root
Only Individual characteristic if nuclear DNA is available.
Without a hair root
Other characteristics would be considered class, including mtDNA.
